Who do you feel would benefit most from your presentation?For both presentations, everyone will walk away with something. Many of the talks I give are technical – these are not. The locksport talk is about psycology, really – although you will learn a little lockpicking along the way. The gaming talk is really abouy parenting, although you will learn a new game along the way. Both of them are general audience talks, so bring your family!

What one concept or viewpoint would you like Notacon participants to walk away with?Orthogonal thinking. I am a big picture guy, and what I want people to be able to do is not box ideas in. Both of these talks are about me teaching one subject, and accidentally learning something totally unexpected. You should try that too.

When did you become interested in hacker culture and hacker conferences?I have followed Defcon and it’s community since Defcon 5, and finally got to go to 15. There I learned that the community is a lot deeper than I had originally thought, and became more an more involved. My long time involvement in the gaming community and relatively recent involvement in the locksport community really meshed well with the hacker and maker communities, too.

What other passions do you have, besides those covered in your presentation?Family is a big part of my every day existence. I also write books and softare for a living, so technology is a main driver. And beer. I like beer.

What excites you most about Notacon 9?The fact that I’ll really be able to get involved this year. I am bringing my family, and we are staying for the whole con. My son is 6 and just starting to get the hacker mentality so I’m looking forward to experiencing it all with him.

Any final thoughts or statements you’d like to share with the community.Y’all are awesome. I come from 20 years in the gamer and developer community, and I am impressed with the even greater depth and breadth and acceptance of the hacker and maker communities. Hugs all around!